The maintenance of peripheral muscle mass may be compromised in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to premature cellular senescence and exhaustion of the regenerative potential of the muscles.

Methods

Vastus lateralis biopsies were obtained from patients with COPD (n?=?16) and healthy subjects (n?=?7). Satellite cell number and the proportion of central nuclei, as a marker of muscle regenerative events, were assessed on cryosections. Telomere lengths, used as a marker of cellular senescence, were determined using Southern blot analyses.

Evidence of increased regenerative events was seen in GOLD III–IV patients with preserved muscle mass. Shortening of telomeres in GOLD III–IV patients with muscle atrophy is consistent with an increased number of senescent satellite cells and an exhausted muscle regenerative capacity, compromising the maintenance of muscle mass in these individuals.